White Coats: Theresa Pina on Donor Recruitment and Maximizing the Impact of Donations

“White Coats” is an AABB News series that interviews the experts that are transforming the fields of transfusion medicine and biotherapies. Join AABB today to read the rest of this month’s issue.

Theresa Pina serves as the vice president of operations for Gulf Coast Regional Blood Center in Houston, Texas. With more than 25 years of management experience, expertise in operations, marketing, public relations and donor recruitment, Pina provides the vision and strategic direction for the organization and ensures it maintains an adequate blood supply.

She began her blood banking career in 2005 as a recruiter, and in 2009, she was promoted to the director of donor recruitment. In 2015, her responsibilities increased when she took on a second department, mobile collections, and then further expanded in 2017 when she became Gulf Coast Regional Blood Center’s vice president of operations.

She currently oversees multiple areas of the organization — a team of sales professionals responsible for the recruitment, planning and logistics for more than 7,000 mobile blood drives each year in a rapidly changing business environment; a group of 185 health care professionals responsible for blood collections in a highly regulated industry, and a team of marketing and public relations professionals responsible for the marketing efforts needed to recruit donors and collect more than 320,000 blood donations each year.

In addition, she provides strategic direction for media and advertising and leads the development and implementation of the organization’s brand, community awareness and engagement. Pina’s work with the Association of Donor Relations Professionals (ADRP) started in 2015 as a committee member before becoming a board member in 2017. Pina has executive oversight of the ADRP Public Awareness Committee and has been the master class co-chair for two years. She is honored to serve as ADRP president for 2021–2023.

AABB News: How did you become interested in the blood field in general and, more specifically, donor recruitment?

Pina: To be honest, I never thought about working in blood banking. Someone at a family birthday party told me I would be a good fit for an opening at Gulf Coast Regional Blood Center in the donor recruitment department. I had no idea what to expect, but I applied and was hired. After the first week, I went home and thought I had made a terrible decision. It all seemed so overwhelming to me, but I decided to give it more time and became deeply passionate about the work we do here. I always say donor recruitment was my first love in blood banking.

AABB News: What are some common obstacles or challenges you face in your work?

Pina: There is no shortage of challenges and obstacles, but those challenges are what I absolutely love about a career in blood banking. The greatest challenge for us right now is the increased blood usage in our service area. With the increase in mass traumas, motor vehicle accidents and acts of violence, more blood is needed from our community to meet those needs. Therefore, we continue to explore new ways to engage donors and increase their donation frequency.

AABB News: How has the COVID-19 pandemic impacted your donor recruitment efforts, particularly your mobile blood drives?

Pina: The pandemic changed the way people work. Many businesses that host mobile blood drives now allow employees to work from home. Remote workers are challenging to engage in a blood drive, so blood drives at some companies now see lower participation, or the account doesn’t want to host at all. This has caused a gap in mobile donations since the pandemic began in 2020. We see some improvements, but we’re still only collecting about 75% of what we collected from businesses pre-pandemic.

AABB News: Have you developed any new, unique initiatives to encourage blood donation during the pandemic?

Pina: COVID-19 provided us with a fantastic opportunity to introduce people to blood donations. We had more news coverage throughout the pandemic than any other time in my history at the center. The coverage brought in current donors, lapsed donors and, in many cases, firsttime donors. But the unique initiative for many blood centers, including ours, was the introduction of antibody testing. It allowed us to educate the community and become a partner in their health care. Donors frequently gave to see if their antibody status changed. And while the antibody status didn’t provide them with much, donors appreciated it.

AABB News: Encouraging a diverse donor pool is important for donor recruitment. How can donor recruiters address this issue?

Pina: Houston is one of the most diverse cities in the nation. We have found that young donors are the most diverse population in our region, so high school blood drives are essential. Our team has worked hard to develop a robust high school program to keep schools engaged. Beyond increasing high school blood drives, we continue to work on Hispanic initiatives to ensure we address one of the fastest-growing demographics in our area. Approximately 12-13% of our donor collection staff speak Spanish, so as we invite donors in through our Hispanic initiatives, we can communicate with them in the language they are most comfortable speaking and understanding.

AABB News: You began your blood banking career in 2005. What have you enjoyed the most about your work as a recruitment professional?

Pina: I started in 2005 as a donor recruiter and worked through several positions within donor recruitment and, eventually, overseeing mobile collections and our marketing department. What I have enjoyed the most is learning all the aspects of blood banking and leveraging that knowledge to maximize our impact on the community. I have also enjoyed the close-knit community of professionals I found while serving with organizations like ADRP. For me, ADRP has offered a community of professionals in donor recruitment, marketing and donor collections where we can network, share best practices and convene thought leaders in our area of work.

AABB News: What changes have surprised you the most about the field?

Pina: If you have worked in the industry long enough, very few things surprise you. But what I found most surprising is more people believe that a paid donor model is the future. I hope we as an industry can continue the work that we do in donor recruitment and marketing to tap into the altruistic nature of people.

AABB News: What are some common misconceptions people have about your work?

Pina: One of the most common misconceptions is that you can’t make blood donors show up and give blood. It’s not a matter of sending more emails or calling people more. Understanding the various motivators and influences that encourage people to donate must be utilized in all aspects of what we do. The most stressful job is that of the donor recruiter who depends on the community’s generosity to help meet their goals. And if donor recruitment is not successful, nothing else in blood banking can happen.

AABB News: What technological advancements have changed your recruitment efforts?

Pina: There have been some great technological advancements that have changed our recruitment efforts. We now have so many opportunities to communicate with people we didn’t have when I started working in blood banking. Texting donors, pushing awareness ads on streaming platforms, advertising on social media, targeted Google ads and so much more have allowed us to reach people quicker and more frequently than ever before. When you look at industry-specific tools, Invita software tools that enable you to set up reoccurring campaigns or target a subset of the donor population, we take for granted today. Texting has also seen new options, like using HealthAware’s texting platform to deliver messages that drive donors to action. And one of my favorite changes in technology has been the OrSense non-invasive hemoglobin device. Although the technology isn’t your traditional recruitment and marketing tactic, many blood donors disliked the finger stick, and sharing the new technology became a recruitment win for many.

AABB News: What are your favorite leisure activities outside of work?

Pina: I enjoy spending time with my husband and two teenage daughters traveling and enjoying life.